Datchet

Riverside village opposite Windsor Home Park on the Thames. In Three Men in a Boat it is the scene of a remembered first trip, when the three friends hunt the whole village for beds at ten at night.

At a glance

Source	Author	Role	In one line
Three Men in a Boat	Jerome K. Jerome	setting	On an earlier August Bank Holiday trip the three arrive late and are turned away from every inn until a small boy finds them beds.

Three Men in a Boat — Jerome K. Jerome (1889)

Source: Exploration of Three Men in a Boat · Three Men in a Boat · Original · Readwise highlight

when we got to Datchet we took out the hamper, the two bags, and the rugs and coats, and such like things, and started off to look for diggings.

• Role: setting
• In the book: Passing Datchet, George reminds the narrator of their first river trip: they land at ten at night, are refused rooms at the Stag, the Manor House and several other places, and Harris threatens to die on the hamper, until a small boy takes them to his mother’s cottage for bacon and beds.
• Why it matters: One of the book’s best-known comic set pieces; the story depends on the village being small and full on a holiday weekend.